Heart of the Forest: Shining Frost
by soundandscar
Summary: Gleam is a young mute cat that has lived with her family and close friends all her life, and has never experienced the hardships of a Clan. But when a young cat shows up on their territory speaking of far away cats and lifestyles, Gleam is intrigued to learn that she is tied to a prophecy of some kind. Will she fulfill it, or will something terrible happen? Read to find out! 3
1. Meeting

The mouse was just out of her reach. Just out of her reach by a few tail-lengths,

and the young, dark grey dappled she-cat growled to herself. But no sound came out, because this cat was mute. Completely mute. Nobody knew if she just didn't want to talk or if there was really something wrong with her, but nobody had ever heard her utter a word. Her name was Gleam, and she also had mismatched amber and brown eyes.

Many cats believed her muteness was because of this, but only Gleam really knew. She always put it down to the fact that she didn't have anything to say. And now, as she was ever-so-close to the mouse she was about to catch, she shifted her weight onto one side and sprang, missing the mouse by a mile. It scurried off, squeaking to high Silverpelt to warn any of its family that there was a predator nearby.

Gleam sighed and sat down, her paws tucked neatly beside her hind legs and her tail flicking from side to side in frustration. She was five moons old, nearly six, and was finding it immensely hard to learn how to hunt. She did not live in a Clan like a lot of cats in forests similar to hers did, instead she lived with a close-knit group of cats, including her family.

She didn't have any problems with this, and in fact loved the life she was living, but she really found it hard to keep up now that she was old enough to fend for herself. On her sixth moon she would have to hunt and train herself, as was the custom of her group. She made her way back to camp, preyless and feeling blue. As she carefully manouevred through the vines that covered the entrance to a small series of carved-out hollows and burrows that her family and friends called home. As she padded in, her mother Cloud greeted her with a friendly lick on the ear.

"How are you, my precious kit? Did you manage to catch anything today?"

Gleam looked down at her paws, a small sigh rising in her throat. She shook her head in response, trying to ignore the obvious disappointment on her mother's face. "Still not talking?" Another head shake and look of disappointment. Gleam looked up at her mother, her eyes glittering with shame. She brushed her long tail over her mother's shoulder and nosed her way over to her brothers, Wolf and Hawk.

Wolf sat up with a smile and called to her. "Hi Gleam! Want to share some rabbit?"

The little she-cat responded with a smile and a nod- Wolf and Hawk were a moon older than her, so they were nearly seven moons old and were already allowed to hunt and look after themselves. She settled by them, and after smiling politely she dove in and munched the remains of the rabbit with gratitude. She hadn't been accepting prey from other cats lately, as she wanted to learn to hunt for her family before herself so she was ready when she couldn't rely on others. It was nice to share prey with her brothers- they were usually sparring or out hunting together, leaving Gleam behind.

Hawk raised his head from the rabbit and looked at Gleam with questioning eyes. "Haven't you managed to hunt anything yet?" The young she cat responded with a sad shake of her head, and she twitched her whiskers and made a sad face. "You lost a mouse?" Inquired Wolf, and Gleam nodded. Her close family had learned to know her mannerisms and ways of saying things without directly using her voice, and Wolf seemed to be the best at interpreting her body language, which she was greatful for.

Gleam was just about to ask her brothers a question when she heard the group's appointed leader, Tiger, leap up onto a shade-covered rock and call his subjects to a meeting. Bear was aptly named, as he was very bulky, but if you teased him for it he would always insist it was because he was fluffy. His loud, smooth voice resonated around the small clearing as cats gathered beneath the rock. "Loyal cats under my lead, please gather beneath the SteepRock to hear my words!"

She walked over to the rock after playfully batting her brothers on their noses, as they were lost in conversation and hadn't moved yet. Looking up at her leader with awe in her bright eyes she waited for him to speak. His mate, Holly, sat by him on the SteepRock, their tails entwined in an unspoken act of the tremendous love they had for eachother.

"My friends and family, I gather you here at this time because I have a matter of urgency to speak about," he meowed, gazing at the assembled cats below. Gleam had never heard Tiger speak with such urgency and her ears were perked to listen.

"Twist and I have noticed the scents of unfamiliar cats on our territory, and this is a big worry. We have lived in peace for many moons here, and we are not prepared for battle. I'm not directly saying that there will be a fight, as these cats may just be passing through. But I insist that you all be back in camp before deep nightfall so that nothing happens," His green gaze covered and comforted all his cats, and he paused for effect. "We are small in numbers, but big in hearts. I thank you for your time, you may continue your daily tasks." Bear leaped down from the rock, landing somewhat gracefully (if a big ball of brown fluff could even look graceful) in the center of the assembled cats and walked back into his den, Holly hot on his tail.

Gleam turned to Hawk and Wolf with a look of surprise in her eyes, before yawning and looking through the small gaps in the trees above. It was fast approaching night-time, and it was too late to go out hunting again now. With a somewhat full belly and a heavy heart, she padded to her nest next to her mother and father's, and turned round two times in a little ritual before settling down to sleep, her tail on her nose and her mismatched eyes being covered by her slowly drooping eyelids.

_The sun filtered through the trees, streaming into the small cat's sleep-heavy eyes. She blinked to adjust to the light and realised that she wasn't in her territory. A wave of shock rushed over her as she looked around, her tail whipping around as she began to panic. A soft, silky voice sounded from the trees and Gleam raised her head to look around, her sides rising and falling as she still panicked. "Hello, young one. Do not be afraid, nothing could possibly harm you here," A large, flame-coloured tom stepped out from the cover of the trees, his pale brown eyes sparkling at Gleam in a way that told her what he was saying was true._

_She looked at him, her amber and brown eyes trying to hold his gaze without flinching. "My name is Firespark, and I have summoned you here for a reason," The tom carefully made his way over to Gleam, his bright tail curling round her shoulder and flicking her in the nose in some sort of playful gesture. He sat down on his hindpaws and spoke again. "You seem to be the only cat of age that I can contact in your group. I do not know why, but you must have some kind of importance, as your band of cats has never been known to speak of us before."_

_Gleam looked up at Firespark, questions burning in her mind. Those questions would have to wait though, as Firespark spoke and the dream began feeling fuzzy at the edges, almost surreal. "I will see you soon, Gleam. Do not worry."_


	2. Hopeful

**Moonbeam141: Thanks so much! I tried to make her as un-godmoddish as possible xD**

**So here is the next chapter of Shining Frost, sorry it's out so late, I got sick and forgot to email my files to scar to proofread, so he couldn't submit them xD**

**Anyway here we go c:**

**(P.S.: Cats sweat through their paws, so if the first bit seems weird that's why xD)**

Gleam woke up in a cold sweat, her paws nearly dripping as she looked around. She began to calm down, her fur settling as she realised she was just in her nest. Looking up at the sky, she noticed it was nearly time to wake for the day. She looked down, and giggled as she saw that Wolf was lying in such a position that his behind was sticking up, his tail drooping just near his nose. _That was such a weird dream,_ she thought to herself. _I wonder if I'll ever meet that cat again? It's been a few sunrises since I met him, though, so it may just be a coincidence. _Gleam got up to exit the den and quietly padded out, nosing the leafy vines that hung at the entrance of the makeshift camp out of the way.

The band of cats that Gleam belonged to preferred to stay quiet, and didn't usually pick fights with kittypets or rogues, as they had no reason to. They had no border to protect either, which resulted in most of the cats being quite relaxed and easygoing. Gleam tried not to adopt this attitude, however, as she was determined to become a strong cat, and not just a queen that lazed around with her mate all day. She hurried out of camp as soon as she could, sniffing hard to try and find the scent of a mouse, or just some kind of prey that she could attempt to catch.

The warm, inviting scent of rabbit drifted into her nostrils, and Gleam grinned. Rabbit was her absolute favourite prey. As she drank in the scent and tried to locate the animal, she saw a small white and black tail wiggling around in a patch of grass nearby. Perfect! Gleam was downwind of it so it couldn't pick up her scent that easily. Hawk had taught her that rabbits could feel the vibrations of her paws, so she needed to be slight and not step down too hard. She crouched into her hunting position, slowly moving forwards, all senses alert.

SNAP!

A twig crunched underneath Gleam's left hindpaw and she cringed as the rabbit flicked its head up in alarm, spotting her immediately. Before it could move, she sprang, trying to chase it. One of Gleam's good points was the fact that she was quite good at dodging things, unlike the rabbit that seemed to blunder into every pebble and twig on the forest floor. The young cat then sprang back on her hindpaws, leaping infront of the rabbit and attacking it with all her might. It was probably the messiest kill the forest had seen; the rabbit had fatal scratch marks on its neck and was bleeding mostly all over. Gleam was proud and decided to take the rabbit back. She tried her best to haul the rabbit over her shoulders as it was too big to carry without it dragging on the floor and started a fast trot, eager to show her family her very first catch - even if it was terribly messy.

"If you're not careful, I'll give you a good scratch!"

"Bring it on, you mangy old queen!"

Hisses and growls erupted from the center of camp as two cats, Tiger and Lily, had an arguement. Suprisingly, they were mates, but they often bickered like this. Gleam sighed and just watched. Nobody dared interrupt a fight between the two cats - the intervener would surely lose half their fur if they did. Instead, the Clan just left the two to fight. They really did seem to love eachother, though, as they were quite old cats now and had been together way before Gleam had even been born. Wolf caught Gleam's eyes from the corner of the camp. He made a face, suggesting that he was fed up with the old cats' constant bickering. He padded over to his sister, Hawk following close behind.

"Are you doing alright, li'l sis?" A brisk nod in response was all Wolf got before Gleam stretched her legs out, her tiny sharp claws jutting out of their sheathes. "Wow, you're doing good, Gleam! Have you been out hunting lately?" Another nod with a bright, toothy smile. "We've totally got to come out with you and see your moves sometime, I'm so proud of you little sis!" Wolf laughed and batted Gleam with his browny-grey paw. She wasn't expecting it, and was knocked off-balance, tumbling to the floor. A cacophony of giggles erupted from her two siblings, and she glared daggers at them, but couldn't help the sly smile creeping onto her face as she pounced on Hawk and then on Wolf, suprising the two. She held her head up high and stared at them in a way that said, _Make sure you keep an eye out for me! I'm not a kit anymore~_

_"_Okay, okay! We get it," Wolf purred. "It looks like the model mates have stopped fighting." Gleam glanced over and giggled. The pair that was fighting like rogues earlier were now purring, entwining their tails and nuzzling eachother as if nothing had happened. She shrugged and stood up, doing an action with her paws to show that she was going hunting again. "Alright," meowed Hawk. "I'm going to speak to Tiger about something." He stretched his brown paws and yawned, then sprang away to find the leader. "Good luck, Gleam! I'd come with you, but I was out really late last night and could do with some sleep," Wolf purred. Gleam nodded and waited for him to go, before exiting camp to hunt again.


End file.
